Flight from Sydney to Hervey Bay makes emergency landing

UPDATE: THE flight from Sydney to Hervey Bay that made an emergency stop in Brisbane has arrived safely in the Bay.

The flight left Sydney on Monday morning at 10.20am, but was forced to land in Brisbane airport due to a minor software issue.

Passenger Caren Gibbs told the Chronicle the Virgin Australia crew had been "fantastic" during the incident.

"We were told the reason we waited so long in Brisbane was that the pilot was out of scheduled flying hours so we had to wait for a new pilot as the plane had been fixed fairly quickly," Ms Gibbs said.

"...We were informed there was a minor issue with the plane and that we would be landing in Brisbane to get engineers to look at it."

UPDATE 2PM: VIRGIN Australia has confirmed a minor software issue was responsible for a flight from Sydney to Hervey Bay to make an emergency landing in Brisbane.

A spokesperson from Virgin said the issue had been investigated and rectified, and the passengers had left Brisbane in the same aircraft at 1.30pm.

The flight, VA1555, is expected to land in Hervey Bay about 2.30pm.

EARLIER: A DIRECT flight from Sydney to Hervey Bay has made an emergency landing in Brisbane, after a warning light turned on in the cockpit.

The Virgin Australia flight VA1555 departed Sydney at 10.20am on Monday morning and was flying above the Sunshine Coast when it suddenly did a U-turn and landed at Brisbane airport just after midday.

DIVERTED: A Virgin flight from Sydney to Hervey Bay has made an emergency landing in Brisbane.Flightradar24.com

A spokeswoman from Virgin Australia told the Chronicle there may have been a minor engineering issue.

"In accordance with standard operating procedures, the Captain decided to divert to Brisbane as a precautionary measure after a cockpit indication light illuminated during the flight, suggesting the possibility of a minor engineering issue," The spokeswoman said.

"The safety of our aircraft, passengers and crew is always our highest priority and we are working to have our guests on their way as soon as possible."

It is unknown at this stage when the passengers will arrive in Hervey Bay.